Flexible shaft coupling



Oct. 6, 1953 E. c. WAHLBERG FLEXIBLE SHAFT COUPLING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 26, 1948 INVENTOR. ERIC Ci WAHLBERG 1953 E. c. WAHLBERG 2,554,235

' FLEXIBLE SHAFT COUPLING Filed Aug. 26, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Y YINVENTOR. ERIC 0. WAHLBERG v ATTO NE).

Oct. 6, 1953 Filed Aug; 26, 1948 E. C. WAHLBERG FLEXIBLE SHAFT COUPLING 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR. ERIC C. WAHLBERG ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 6, 1953 UNITED PATENT OFFICE 2554,235 SHAFT iibURL'ING Eric 0. WaIi-lliei'g; Stamford, haunt, assig'nor to Elebtrolux Corporation, Old Greenwich; G'onm, 'a; corporation of Delaware At iitatitn iitg'tst 26, 19453, striti No; tests 2 Claims: 1 t

This invention relates to a new type 6? iieaher and more s ecifitaiiy t6 a device adapted to ireniove dirt, debris and similar sfiperficial stains from the surface of such del-i'eat' arti'les as eggs, thin glassware, glass globes and the iik.

Basically this invention oj ifipi'is's a meterfaii unit for the obtainrnent of a suction current iii? air, the motowfan 'u'i'i'i't Being s'iiiii'iltaiieousli iseti to drive a bufling ii he'ei tiii'oiigh rediietien gearing, In addition a canister is utilized to collect the debris and 'Buifei seiapiri'gs While a filtering device separates oiiii the fiiie partiele's from th'e air ciirrent and aiibws the air current to pass therethrough. H 1 I It is an object of this invention to provide a blhbatt, unitary deViC for cleanin Eggs and simiiar fra ile articles. H w

Another object is to "ide a self centering eoiif 'l'ing device fer imparting rotation to a driven shaft and speed idiittitn g aring itr driving a r'eindt'ei'y positioned biifiing' Wheel. 4

sft'iii tmtthet tibiett is t6 pristine a mbtor ian unit forremoving poiishi'ngs and loose particles from the operators pishi A further object is t provi e a eoupiirig capa'ble of serving a a universal joint between two a'i'i'g'uiari'y disposed shafts;

A still fhrther object it to previd'e a bufiing dev'ice having a, self-cleaning filter pad th'e surface er vtiiih is readily cleaned by removing and reinserting the filter ad. 7

Farther and additional Obj'ts \ifiil be disclosed. Below and stm others win be readily suggested iip'on reading the a'othtiaiiyihg diselosure of one embodiment 'of the iiiii'ritifr, fiaiticularlfj when tonsid'ered together with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a buffing device taken on the line l-l of Fig. 3 and made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view, in perspective, of the self-centering coupling device described in more detail herein; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-seetional vertical view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. H v

Referring now in more detail to the drawings a base it supports the tiet ie, which essentially comprises a meter-fan iiriit i3 mounted by bolt members 15 on one side bf the base preferably througha oushioning, Vibratibnabsorbing ifiibber gasket 15. The unit 13 is encased il lithiii a, tubular cover i! whi'h siirlsseeurely and teleseopicaliy ever a maimed ify iiiidricai irieiiiher it! having a groove IQ the outeisiiiiace thereei, the beaded flange 'il fse'ci rely fitting into groove iii. A perforated a verts snapped iiYer the open end of the tiibii-iai" 56V?! l7 ail'oiivs for the easy egress of air from the motor-Ian unit.

i swi'tbh 2S onntts the motoi t6 a sour-at oi The flexible ctupniit 30 is one oi" the many features ti the intention and comprises hu element 3! afiiiied se'e'ii'riy by a machined thread at the end of iiiot'oi shaft 27 Driven shaft M) is jbu'rnailed in bearings '4! its and is enabled to drivin shaft 21 th'r'ough the self-(Entering iihift or flexible universal 'oii piing 3B; fjou'iiliiig iiii 'cb'niiirises the toiiue 33 (see Fit. ti iiiit 31 which tongue fits between the faces of groove 35 exit in shaft 4'0. Tongue 33 is preferabl of a width less than the diameter of shaft at and any free spate between its flat faces and the in er rate oi groove as is taken up 153} the shaei elements '31 wiiieii are made of resilient material; i. e; rubber and like, tietwen these rates; being positioned in sliding etihta t therewith; spacer elements 31 render the doubling device hi'ghl y flexible and in additi n assert a in e silent bp'eratien or t e aevit'e, since i'nottr noises are not transmitted theretiiio'ugh to great extent. The whale etup'iinig unit 30 is held in operating etition by ranges which fits tightly over the free end of shaft 740.

A spiral dri'vin? gear so is afiixd to strait 4t and antes at a iiiiienib'wei speed, gear 5| whih in tent drives shaft 52 (see Pie. 3) ieuniaiiee iii bearing membe s 53, 54 and has ih'ii'flt'd on a free end thereof the bu'ffifig Wheel '60;

iiiitsutwardly dispia'rid lip 80, Fig. 3 extents eginhdribafily almost com letely areund the b'ufring when extent for a. small openin ust abt've the shelf-like iiieinher B], Fig 1, Mirth fiening'gii s ace's'stothe biifiins meet 60 from the outside; anti an additional teem-n; 32, Fig. 2, immediately below the Biiffifig wheel which latter opening 82 'gives atieess' to the dust cementing haiiiiber 73; Lib 8i] together with to'v'e-r 83 forms a dust kioile'tii g giia'rd for the dust particles ioeseiiti from the surface or a Buried article a wheel sq. a

A fiitr in is suitably fiiied in grooves 1| ut in the side bi base member I]. This filter is easily "riii'iiived tor meanin or renewal b3 means ofh'aiidi'e 1 2. Iii aetiial practice, the mere rerieval and reinsertioii oi filter 10 serves to scrape the adhering tartitles err the bottom side or the of the filter whereuiidii the apparatus is again eonditioned iei immediate and efiiint biiffin'g and dust c'zi'ii'eeti'ng operation. A removable partitle pdi-ietiri container 13 fits into the botttm tofiipartihiit of base I I and serves tofibllt the dirt and dust partiies which fall therein after their i efiibtiai from an bbje t t y the bufiifi: when, their entrainment in the air siictioii current, and separation from the air current by filter pad 10.

In operation, the dust particles removed by bufling wheel 60 are entrained by the air stream produced by the motor-fan unit I 3 and are caused to follow a path downwardly within the dust collecting guard 80, through opening 82, Fig. 3, and into dust collecting chamber 13 where the heavier particles are deposited on the bottom while the lighter particles carried by the air stream continue therewith until they hit the bottom of dust screen 10. At this point the dust particles are separated from their entraining air stream which latter continues through the filter and then through opening 84 to the motor-fan imit I3, finally emerging into the open air through blower outlet or louvers 85.

The driven shaft 40 is relatively fixed in position in its bearing mounts 4|, 431 and its axis is therefor fixed in position. The driving shaft 21, because of the relatively flexible rubber mounting used on conventional motor-fan units 13 or because of its loose mounting on tie bolts l5 preliminary to final tightening, may be in considerable misalignment with the driven shaft. By utilizing the coupling devic of this invention between the driving and the driven shafts, as shown in detail in Fig. 2, the driving shaft under rotation transmits a force which tends to orient the driving shaft so that the relative position of the two shafts finally assumes a fixed association of substantial alignment of their respective axes.

In more detail, when the motor-fan unit is first assembled with respect to the base member H, the tongue 33 is inserted into the slot 35, the resilient spacing or spacer elements 31 being disposed between the broad tongue faces and the inside walls of the slot 35. The tie bolts [5 are then screwed in loosely so as to hold the motorfan unit in approximately the correct position. If these bolts were tightened they would pull the motor-fan unit into a position such that its shaft 21 would be substantially parallel to shaft 40, but probably not in coaxial relation thereto, that is, the axis of the motor shaft 21 would probably be displaced laterally from the axis of shaft 40, the two axes having no point of intersection, and hence rotary motion could not be transmitted through the coupling 30 as thus set up.

However, if the motor-fan unit I3 is mounted and the motor started rotating with tie bolts 15 loosely screwed in position, then in this approximate assembly of the coupling unit the driving shaft 21 under rotation transmits a force which at first tends to orient the axis of driving shaft 21 into a position wherein the axes of the driv ing shaft 21 and the driven shaft intersect at a common point within the coupling.

Then continued further rotation of driving shaft 2'! together with the simultaneous tightening of tie bolts [5 will result in the further application of this force whereupon the motor-fan unit I3 is pulled into a position such that the axis of driving shaft 21 is oriented into substantial coaxial alignment with the axis of driven shaft 40.

Further tightening of tie bolts l5 while the motor is running results in the motor-fan unit l3 being securely fixed in the most highly desirable position, an orientation wherein the two shafts, driving shaft 21 and driven shaft 40, are properly aligned substantially coaxially. Thus, with this type of self-centering coupling device the transmission of power from the driving shaft to the driven shaft is found to be free of any simultaneous whipping action or oscillatory motion on the part of the driving shaft,

Although the embodiment more specifically disclosed illustrates a use of the present invention wherein substantial axial alignment of a driving shaft and a driven shaft is highly desirable, it is to be understood that this coupling device may function as a universal joint by virtu of the compressible and resilient spacer elements 31, and hence provides a highly efficient device for the transmission of rotary motion where the axes of the driving and driven shafts are disposed at a considerable angle to each other.

Although a specific example embodying the invention has been given in considerable detail, it is to be understood that this is merely an illustrative and not a limitative disclosure and that the scope of this invention is to be determined solely by the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a power transmitting shaft and a motor shaft having interfitting end portions, compressible means between said end portions, a sleeve encircling said compressible means and said end portions and limiting lateral displacement of the parts, a motor for driving said motor shaft, supporting means for said motor comprising portions spaced apart a distance greater than the dimension of the motor, means securing said motor between said spaced portions so that it may be held loosely and thereafter secured tightly in position, the construction and arrangement of parts when assembled being such that when said motor is operated while held loosely said shafts will center themselves and can be secured in centered position by tightening the mounting of said motor.

2. The combination of a power transmitting shaft and a motor shaft having interfitting end portions, compressible means between said end portions, a sleeve encircling said compressible means and said end portions and limiting lateral displacement of the parts, a motor for driving said motor shaft, supporting means for said motor comprising portions spaced apart a distance greater than the dimension of the motor, means securing said motor between said spaced portions so that it may be held loosely and thereafter secured tightly in position, cushioning means for supporting the motor against the force of said securing means, the construction and arrangement of parts when assembled being such that when said motor is operated while held loosely said shafts will center themselves and can be secured in centered position by tightening the mounting of said motor.

ERIC C. WAHLBERG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 897,603 Duncan Sept. 1, 1908 1,177,342 Leiman Mar. 28, 1916 1,359,718 McGuire Nov. 23, 1920 1,528,439 Leiman Mar. 3, 1925 1,642,171 Reavis Sept. 13, 1927 1,712,219 Knudsen May 7, 1929 1,890,675 Doerr et a1. Dec. 13, 1932 1,986,378 Smith Jan. 1, 1935 2,004,077 McCartney et a1 June 4, 1935 2,006,108 Montuori June 25, 1935 2,100,232 Barry Nov. 23, 1937 2,219,142 Williams Oct. 22, 1940 2,252,455 Bishel Aug. 12, 1941 2,291,550 Heinichen July 28, 1942 

